Just A few days ago I started playing through Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes as part of a campaign to prepare myself for the upcoming MGS3: Snake Eater. Even with the updated cut scenes designed for the Gamecube remake (Snake riding a missile fired from a Hind-D?), it still led back to the days of MGS when we didn't have so many questions in the end that needed to be answered.

All we were asking at the end of the first game was who was Ocelot talking to on the phone. All we knew is that it was another survivor of the "Les Enfants Terribles" project: Solidus. However, Ocelot addresses him at the end as "Mr. President." When MGS2: Sons of Liberty came out, the answer to the whole President scam was revealed, but in turn, we were introduced to an unknown entity that still puzzles me to this day.

THE PATRIOTS!

Even with several replays, I am still wondering just who the Patriots were. I do recall that Ocelot is a spy for the Patriots (revealed truly when Liquid Snake took over his hand) who intended to recover Metal Gear Ray and defect from Solidus (who earned the wrath of the Patriots after making public the existence of the Shadow Moses Genome Army). It was also reported that the so called "Wiseman's Committee," the elite twelve of the Patriots organization, are reportedly dead"over a hundred years ago! How is this possible, especially when Otacon mentions to Snake that one of the Wisemen is a sponsor for their Philanthropy movement?

Now when Metal Gear 3 was originally planned, there were several individuals out there who thought the actual title would be "MGS 3: The Patriots." It would make sense, as we would hopefully find out just who the heck these mysterious Patriots were and get the full story once and for all. But when E3 2003 came and the truth about MGS3: Snake Eater was revealed, questions about the Patriots appeared to be pushed aside for several more questions.

First of all, with MGS3 taking place in the year 1964 (approximately 10 years before Snake was created in Les Enfants Terribles), speculation led to the Snake in this game actually being his superior, Big Boss. The E3 2003 package had the letters "BIG BOSS" hidden in the background, and based on the time period, it would make sense. However, during the Ray takeover in MGS2, Liquid (speaking through Ocelot's hand) mentioned that "Big Boss was in his late fifties when he created his copies." Thus, "Snake" would obviously be in his forties, approaching the big 5-0, much older than the Snake we know and love.

The E3 2004 trailer and demo caused another concern. In it, Snake is sometimes referred to as "Jack." Now for those who played MGS2, the name "Jack" brings up bad memories of the most hated character in the series: Raiden. Right after MGS2 was released and reviewed, Kojima himself said in EGM that Raiden would be a one-time character. Imagine my shock and horror when at the end of the E3 2004 trailer, we see the villain now known as "The Colonel" talking to a officer who looks exactly like Raiden! It gets worse when The Colonel grabs his crotch, just like how President Johnson did to Raiden. I swear if Raiden ever does come back, and he is a playable character, please shoot me now.

But the biggest monkey wrench thrown to me on my MGS3 conspiracy came last week, in the form of the GC 2004 trailer. Being the first trailer to be recorded in English, I had my theories about the voice of Snake. Now while David Hayter will always be known by MGS fans as the true voice of Solid Snake, considering that MGS3 might actually feature Big Boss, I had my beliefs that John Cygan would voice Snake. Considering how Cygan voiced Solidus, who was referred by Ocelot as "the spitting image of Big Boss," right down to the white hair, beard, and eyepatch, he would seem the best fit to the character. Again, my senses were taken for a ride; as David Hayter appears to be returning as Snake.

Hearing his voice again brought back thoughts of a possible Patriots setup. After all, the second part of MGS2 was based on a recreation of Shadow Moses (the similar deaths of Ames and the ArmsTech President (aka Decoy Octopus), the return of Campbell and Raiden's reference of Snake, and the imitation of the FOXDIE virus), and the mysterious S3 plan that the Patriots used on Raiden might be used on Snake as well.

Could the whole 1964 Cold War setting be a setup? Is there more to MGS3 than Kojima is telling? He may be a genius, but sometimes his storylines get carried away (we didn't need to know that Otacon was having a Jerry Springer-like affair with his stepmother).

When MGS3 comes out this November, I hope to get these questions answered once and for all, I'll just have to remember the passwords given at the end of the GC trailer.

"'Who are the Patriots?' and ‘La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo?'"

CURRENTLY PLAYING: MGS: The Twin Snakes (GC), ESPN NHL 2K5 (Xbox), NASCAR 2005 (Xbox)

MOST WANTED: MGS 3:SNAKE EATER (PS2)